About 760 thought dead in accident off African coast

DAKAR, Senegal -- An ocean ferry sank off the coast of West Africa so fast that one survivor said Friday he could hear the screams of hundreds trapped inside as the ship capsized. Some 760 people were believed dead.

"The boat went down so fast. It was so unbelievable -- in just three minutes, the boat went down," Moussa Ndong said of Thursday night's disaster.

"It was horrible, because we were hearing people screaming from underneath," Ndong told The Associated Press by telephone from a hospital in neighboring Gambia.

The ferry sank in a fierce gale, and 88 passengers were confirmed dead Friday. The bodies of more than 670 others are believed to be trapped inside the capsized vessel.

Thirty-two of the 796 crew and passengers survived, rescued by boats in the area that responded to an alert.

Ndong said the storm brewed quickly and the wind built in speed and the boat started tipping over to one side. Water rushed into the cabin.

When the lights went out, he said, passengers started screaming.

Many survivors stayed on top of the capsized vessel for two hours, until fishing boats arrived to pluck them off.

The state-owned Joola ferry sank in the Atlantic Ocean about 11 p.m. Thursday en route to the Senegalese capital, Dakar, from the south of the country.

Ferries are the main way of transportation between north and south Senegal.